Chapter 6: Arc 1 Part 5
____________________________________________________________________________________________
They arrived at an enormous cruise ship. It towered before them. This was a legal gambling boat. The halls alone mirrored the luxury casinos in Las Vegas and the interior was especially dazzling. It was so brightly lit that there was no sense of time. All sorts of people were scattered about. Some stood, while others sat around the differing tables. Some had faces locked in frowns while others were eagerly smiling from ear to ear.
Shu Wenjie and Qi Yuxuan took Qiao Chen to a table playing a high-low dice game. They wanted Qiao Chen to start with the simplest game on the floor.
Shu Wenjie set aside a stack of chips and said, “Let’s use these to practice first. Just familiarize yourself with everything. I mean even if you lose some money, it shouldn’t matter. Anything you lose here wouldn’t even offset what you’ve won from before.”
(T/N: Honestly guys, this is such a bad mindset for gambling. Please don’t copy this. My family has a gambling addict and he always says this, but the house always wins.)
“You guys can play here. I’m going to take a look at what they have around here.” Qi Yuxuan tried to make an excuse, so he wouldn’t have to stick around.
“Where are you going?” Qiao Chen asked. If you’re leaving, I’m going too.
“I’ll just be playing something else nearby. I won’t be too far.”
“What are you worrying about? I’ll stay with you. Let me show you how to play this one. It’s really simple. You just bet on whether they roll a high or low number.” Shu Wenjie quickly shifted Qiao Chen’s attention away.
But Qi Yuxuan actually didn’t go too far away. He played a game one table away. If Qiao Chen tilted his head, then he could see the back of Qi Yuxuan’s head. They were still close enough for him to use the system and sneak into Qi Yuxuan’s consciousness.
QIao Chen focused and began the system’s program. It launched subtle electromagnetic waves deep into Qi Yuxuan’s mid. The waves couldn’t control a person’s behavior, but it could cause the person to be more easily persuaded. It was just like when he hypnotized Chu Mei to be haunted by nightmares filled with guilt. He just stimulated a person’s deepest desires and underlying fears. Therefore, if Qi Yuxuan already had an itch for gambling, then he’d be more inclined to do it.
Qiao Chen felt someone watching him. He looked up at the windows of a four story building and used the system to zoom in. In the distance he saw Wei Zhennan behind one of the windows watching himself.
After playing for a while, Qiao Chen told Shu Wenjie he was heading to the restroom. Then, he sent a message to Wei Zhennan to ask if he was on the ship.
Qiao Chen looked at the message Wei Zhennan sent. He quietly made his way to the fourth floor. There weren’t many rooms on this floor. All the doors were closed. Qiao Chen stood before the door of the room he was looking for. He was about to knock on the door when it was opened.
“Why are you here?” Qiao Chen asked as he entered.
“Why can’t I be here?” Wei Zhennan brushed his fingers across Qiao Chen’s face. Then he wrapped his arms around Qiao Chen and pulled them to the sofa. “It’s stranger that you’re here.”
“Are you the boss? Is this gambling ship a part of the Wei Group?” With all the information he pulled up about Wei Zhennan, a gambling ship owned by the Wei group was not in the data. Was this something I missed?
“I’m not. This isn’t one of the Wei Group’s businesses, but the boss is one of my good friends. I occasionally come and play. Just now, I saw you on the floor. I thought you were having fun with that Shu boy, so I didn’t want to interrupt you. How did you know that I was here?”
The two spoke to each other on the phone every night. Qiao Chen didn’t hide his day to day life or activities. He told Wei Zhennan every time Qi Yuxuan took him out with Shu Wenjie. He also discussed his predictions on Qi Yuxuan’s purpose for this entire farce.
“Had a hunch.” Qiao Chen could only say that. I can’t say that I saw you with my own two eyes, now can I? Considering how far apart we were, it wasn’t like I had a telescope to see you from a far.
“How are we so in sync?” Wei Zhennan whispered intimately and pressed Qiao Chen on the large sofa. His hand reached towards Qiao Chen’s pants.
“Wait, I want to ask you something.” Qiao Chen pushed Wei Zhennan’s naughty hand away.
“How rare… You finally want my help?” Wei Zhennan mumbled as he sucked hard behind Qiao Chen’s ear. Then he continued downwards to nip at the neck.
“Don’t leave a mark. I’ll be heading back down in a bit. They’ll be suspicious.” Qiao Chen pushed Wei Zhennan’s face away and continued, “Since this is your friend’s place, then you can help me set up a game for Qi Yuxuan too. The more money he loses the better. As he uses up all his money, let him take out a loan, and give him ample time pay it back later. Then get the collectors to go ahead of schedule to our dear father Qi Jianye and collect on the debt.”
Qiao Chen could have done this by himself. But if he did, it would mean he had to invade Qi Yuxuan’s mind, and the minds of the casino workers, and arrange something with the loan sharks. The process was somewhat complicated. Wei Zhennan was so astute. If the man came here every day to watch him (QC), then he (WZN) would eventually see something wrong. If that was going to be the case, then just leave the issue for him to handle.
“I’d be very happy to help you, but…” Wei Zhennan’s hands began to move towards Qiao Chen again.
“I’ll see you tomorrow morning.” Qiao Chen persuaded.
“Deal.” Wei Zhennan said and gave Qiao Chen a strong kiss on the mouth.
Qiao Chen rearranged the pants that Wei Zhennan tried to pull off, fixed his appearance, and headed back down to the casino below.
“Why did you leave for so long? I’ve been waiting forever now.” Shu Wenjie jokingly whined.
“My stomach wasn’t well. I asked a waiter to get me some medicine.” Qiao Chenreplied as he sat next to Shu Wenjie. Qiao Chen took a glance at Qi Yuxuan’s direction and saw him happily gambling away.
“You should be fine after taking some medicine, right? You wanna keep playing or do you want to change tables for a different game?”
“Let’s just play this. We don’t need to change games. I don’t know how to play anything else.”
The trio played until late into the night before they were ready to go home. The yacht returned to the sh.o.r.e. For the whole night, Qiao Chen sat at the same table and broke even. Shu Wenjie won some money. Only Qi Yuxuan lost a lot of money that night. While he was on the ship, he didn’t have much a reaction. He just looked a bit annoyed.
Over the next few days, Shu Wenjie and Qi Yuxuan eagerly persuaded Qiao Chen to go with them to the casino every day. However, every single time Qiao Chen played he kept breaking even- losing nothing, making nothing. Qi Yuxuan on the other hand, lost more and more. It got to the point that Shu Wenjie pulled him aside and privately told him not to gamble- advising him to just watch on the sidelines. Qi Yuxuan agreed and went with the mentality to not gamble. But every time he laid eyes on a table, he couldn’t control himself and started gambling.
The people Wei Zhennan arranged also began their movements. The casino manager, whether intentional or unintentional, had been in contact with Qi Yuxuan several times now. Eventually, he took Qi Yuxuan to a professional gamblers’ table. The casino workers didn’t need to even lift a finger. They left Qi Yuxuan to his own devices and just lost and lost and lost.
Then, the manager offered the loan. The interest rate was extremely low. The time required to return the money was also very generous. Qi Yuxuan knew he absolutely should not take the loan, but he wanted to keep gambling. So he lost control again and signed his name.
…..
At Wei Zhennan’s sea side mountain manner, two people lovingly □□ in every corner of the house. Qiao Chen laid powerless on the table. Wei Zhennan hooked Qiao Chen’s legs over the shoulders and pressed his thighs against his chest. Qiao Chen was subjected to forceful impacts while holding this difficult Kamasutra like pose. Every impact felt as if his soul was going to be knocked out of his body.
When the pa.s.sion died down, Wei Zhennan happily carried Qiao Chen into the bathroom to wash up. Qiao Chen, on the other hand, felt like his b.u.t.t was no longer a part of his own body. It was practically numb, and he couldn’t feel a thing anymore.
Qiao Chen lay on the bed. Wei Zhennan lay on top of Qiao Chen as he loosely wrapped his arms around Qiao Chen’s waist. He dropped kisses along Qiao Chen’s body flitting around the waist area. Qiao Chen complained inwardly. Wei Zhennan you beast! I don’t know how you have all this inexhaustible energy. In this life, he didn’t die by Qi Yuxuan’s hands. As a result, he was going to be □□ to death without completing his task.
Qiao Chen’s phone rang out on the bedside. He grabbed it and took a look. He saw that it was Shu Wenjie’s name on the screen, hung up, and turned off the phone. These past few days, Qiao Chen didn’t go gambling on the ship anymore. But Shu Wenjie still called every single day to persuade him to go. Every single time they went, he (QC) just sat in a chair for the whole night. He didn’t win any money, so it was quite boring. Qi Yuxuan fell deep into his trap. In the previous life, even if Qi Yuxuan didn’t go, he’d go by himself. So now it was Qi Yuxuan’s turn. Qiao Chen copied actions from the previous life and showed his face in front of the Qi family everytime Qi Yuxuan went out to gamble. Qiao Chen even pretended to read the basic economic books he bought. Then, when father Qi was home at night, he’d ask some questions every now and then. Qiao Chen didn’t have a single cent of gambling debt. It was Qi Yuxuan who continued to owe more and more money. This made the two conspirators extremely anxious. Initially, Shu Wenjie helped pay some of the debt, little by little. But the debt kept increasing. It finally came to the point where both of them couldn’t do a thing. The debt was like a sink hole.
In the afternoon, Qiao Chen and Wei Zhennan finally woke up. Qiao Chen personally cooked a meal for the two. The pair sat at the table facing the gla.s.s wall. They had dinner as they enjoeded the beautiful sh.o.r.eline while the sun set.
The two didn’t speak as they ate their food. They silently enjoyed each other’s company like a contented, old married couple. The atmosphere was beautiful and tranquil.
Qiao Chen planned to leave after dinner. Wei Zhennan hugged Qiao Chen and constantly kissed his face. Wei Zhennan didn’t want to let him go and murmured, “You’re not staying with me again. When are you going to give me that breakfast you promised?”
Qiao Chen already gave Wei Zhennan lunch and dinner. He just never had a chance to make breakfast… Wei Zhennan had been trying to use this excuse to keep him for the night. Unfortunately for him, Qiao Chen was still setting the trap for his ‘family’. Of course he needed to play with them too. If he hadn’t gone out with Qi Yuxuan all those nights, then he’d definitely return home on time.
“You can ask the chef to make it for you. Or ask your a.s.sistant to send you some. ” Qiao Chen knew Wei Zhennan wasn’t going to cook. Anything he tried to cook turned into a burnt and black… thing. The a.s.sistant usually bought ingredients to fill the fridge so the chef could cook. If he wanted to eat, then he could get the chef to make it on the spot.
“Aren’t you leaving the Qi family? When are you leaving them?” Wei Zhennan pestered.
“Not yet.”
“Then pick up the pace. Hurry and leave the Qi family so you can live with me.” He whined.
Qiao Chen stared at him with his eyes wide open. Shocked, he asked, “Who said I’m coming to live with you once I leave the Qi family? Do you think I can’t find my own place to live?”
“If you don’t live with me, then I’ll go live with you. I don’t really care where.” Wei Zhennan licked his lips and continued, “You know if there’s a will, there’s a way. I can get you to agree sooner or later.”
Qiao Chen rolled his eyes. He knew he didn’t have a chance.
Back at the Qi household, only Mr. Qi and Qi Ziyun were home. Qi Yuxuan and Mrs. Qi were out. Qiao Chen greeted the two and went to his room to rest. He really needed it. Wei Zhennan tossed him around all day and night. He was exhausted. He had no energy to even try and pretend to be a good student.